|
To be honest, my main reason for opposing the plan we were given is because it just screams being badly thought out. You can say it's a matter of idealism versus practicality, but to me, it's kind of "Do we do something really stupid right this second or do we maybe think things through a bit more?" So if anything, rather than necessity versus kindness, it seems to me that it's more like recklessness versus excessive caution. I know in the end it comes down to how the writers decided to interpret it, but. I just feel like I have to respond to these kinds of things with "You really ought to think this through, I'm pretty sure a five year old could tell you this is a stupid idea". I'm not opposed to kidnapping as a solution persay, I'm just opposed to stupid plans.
|
#
?
Apr 23, 2014 07:35
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 29, 2024 12:06 |
|
|
Personally I also think there's a time and a place for pragmatism, and that time and place was while we were still a knight of Lodis. We've just given up everything rather than do something that feels wrong just because somebody we trust told us to, and it seems like kind of a waste of knighthood to just turn around and do something that feels wrong just because a pretty girl told us to. If you're going to follow your heart no matter the cost &c &c, for Filarrh's sake commit to it; otherwise don't leave Rictor. 
|
|
#
?
Apr 23, 2014 15:16
|
|
|
We're not actually the protagonist; that's Rictor. We're the childhood friend that is compelled to take the opposite path as the protagonist. Rictor choose Law, so we're forced to choose Chaos. Or we're just a contrary rear end in a top hat. If it had come out later, there would have been DLC for Rictor choosing the Chaos and Neutral paths.
|
|
#
?
Apr 23, 2014 17:24
|
|
|
Crepuscule Adepte posted:To be honest, my main reason for opposing the plan we were given is because it just screams being badly thought out. You can say it's a matter of idealism versus practicality, but to me, it's kind of "Do we do something really stupid right this second or do we maybe think things through a bit more?" So if anything, rather than necessity versus kindness, it seems to me that it's more like recklessness versus excessive caution. You're definitely not wrong! Thing is, the White Fang already have a head start and home field advantage when it comes to searching for the spear, so whether Cybil and Mercury really have time to think up a Plan B is up for debate. Anyway, mini-update! --- Decisions Last time on Knight of Lodis:  "I grew a spine and he told me to tell you your plan stinks!"  Yeah!  You never explain yourself, and I'm tired of listening without question. I'm not your puppet. However, I will repay my debt to you. I'll find the sanctuary on my own and return with details on the spear.Yeah!  Alright. I'll trust you. But, there's no time to waste. Got it? I think she took that rather well. Hope Rictor's taking notes or something, geez. ---  The only music during these scenes is some atmospheric rain, but it does actually get louder outside. It's still raining...  They may not subside for some time... Mercury, what will you do now?What is he gonna do? What are you gonna do? Why are you still here?? Ivanna, have you heard of the Temple of Sufrir? Yes. It's off the tip of the Numida Peninsula. I heard that it sank into the ocean because of geologic instability. In fact, Yema Bay was supposedly once a lake. I see. So the Temple of Sufrir is located near Yema Bay. I've heard that after the temple sank into the sea, an underwater cave connecting Anser and Tinea was discovered. I'm considering going to Arena Island by that route.That's not a foreboding name at all no sir. I heard there are many beasts that dwell inside. Don't you think it's too dangerous? I know. But, if there's a chance... I want to give it a try. Is that the only reason? What do you mean by that? That's...actually a good question! How observant of you. That's true. I'd like to speak with Rictor again. But don't worry about me... I'm fine. I haven't forgotten my promise to Cybil. I have no intention of rejoining my former comrades. I see. Rictor may know something...Y'know, spies are pretty observant. Just sayin'.  Holy poo poo! Don't you want to avenge your father's death? The White Fang Troops have a hand in all of this. My uncle must be plotting something. I think it's best to stay with you for now. Don't get me wrong... I do want to know the truth of my father's death, but I want to help you, too. I can't take these hard-hitting questions! I don't know. My sword instructor used to tell me that destructive power can never win against protective power. I became a knight to protect Rananculus, but after meeting you at Vespa, I decided to fight alongside you and your comrades. Thanks, Ivanna...Your master's Kenshin? So that's why they call you the Manslayer haha oops I thought that- Let's go settle the matter with your friend, and then we'll fulfill your agreement with Cybil. ---   Because this wouldn't even qualify for a mini-update otherwise, I took the opportunity to do some organizing, and, well  After considerable consideration and some deep soul-searching, I decided I'd rather save money now and have infinite money later than have no money now and infinite money later. So some of our persuaded recruits had little existential crises of their own and changed their names. What a bunch of weirdos! Also as a result of that decision, elements and alignments may be off for a while, but there are items that let you screw around with that kind of thing so don't worry about it.  If you change class from an individual unit menu instead of the main squad menu, you get this more helpful (and very purple) list of available classes. TARDIS spontaneously grew a beard, went bald, got old, and tore his sleeves off.  This menu also helpfully tells you which classes a unit's already been. Surely that'll never come up ever! Bregor trades his helmet for a hat as I prove some kind of point to myself about variety in the face of personal preferences.  Krysm stays a ninja because why not. Though she always did hate her dad for calling her Sapphire (when her element's water?? geez SO uncool). I also shuffle some equipment around, which makes a nice excuse to post the current Goon Squad.  The Matsukaze is a two-handed katana, which would be a better fit for one of our ninjas but Merc's wind element and the main character. Also I think he mugged a fairy or something. What a rebel!  Deneb's still Deneb, though that'll hopefully change(?) soon.  J. Totes is still an honorable ninja, which does mean I have two of them but pfffft  I should probably buy more magic at some point. He seems to be getting taller with every Int point. Weird.  Rabbi takes a break from her class weapon to grab a big pokey stick for whatever reason.  There's something familiar about that weapon selection...  TARDIS shows dragons what he really thinks of them.  Okay I know what this looks like, but I ran out of armor! It's not that I don't like archers, I promise!  Krysm takes up the rapier, and hopefully she won't need any magical healing any time soon.  And that's all we got so far. Next time, we uh that's a pretty long tunnel, Merc.
|
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2014 05:29
|
|
|
I hope the glass pumpkin is a helmet and not an accessory.
|
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2014 06:14
|
|
|
Orcs and Ostriches posted:I hope the glass pumpkin is a helmet and not an accessory. Unfortunately it's an accessory. Looking forward to path B, I've only ever done path A in this game because my dad conditioned me to think that path A was always the one of righteous justice! Let Us Cling Together was a rough game in that respect...
|
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2014 06:21
|
|
|
Oh geez, what did I do to the fairy? 
|
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2014 06:29
|
|
|
TARDISman posted:Unfortunately it's an accessory. Looking forward to path B, I've only ever done path A in this game because my dad conditioned me to think that path A was always the one of righteous justice! Well, the first choice was always Law in LUCT.  I do like how these games present the Law/Chaos divide.
|
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2014 06:40
|
|
|
Looper posted:
I'm an archer! I barely classify as a damage dealer! (Oh, to be an archer in LUCT...) Looper posted:
"I put on my robe and archer hat."
|
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2014 11:09
|
|
|
Bregor posted:I'm an archer! I barely classify as a damage dealer! (Oh, to be an archer in LUCT...) You whipper snappers and your damage dealing, back in my day we had the monsters do all the work and by gum we liked it! 
|
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2014 13:31
|
|
|
Looper posted:You're definitely not wrong! Thing is, the White Fang already have a head start and home field advantage when it comes to searching for the spear, so whether Cybil and Mercury really have time to think up a Plan B is up for debate. Fair enough! Still, wasn't it mentioned that mermaids have been avoiding people for years? I'm confused not only about what she intends to do once she's kidnapped them without it exploding in her face, but how she expects to find one in the first place beyond "just wander along the shore until we find one". At that point the plan's basically identical to not having a plan at all, as it still depends entirely on getting lucky. Still, it seems like the game treated the whole thing like a moral choice, so all I can do is sigh, shake my head, and say "well at least she handled it better than Rictor". And of course, chances are they would immediately stumble upon one without any effort if this were the A Route. Crepuscule Adepte fucked around with this message at 19:18 on Apr 24, 2014 |
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2014 19:15
|
|
|
It seems kind of weird that Mercury is totally parting ways over this, but I suppose mermaid torture isn't a good opening remark.
|
|
#
?
Apr 27, 2014 04:42
|
|
|
Sufrir Welcome back! Last time we told Cybil to gently caress off and in doing so, burnt another bridge. Ivanna's got our back, yeah, but Mercury's got nobody else to believe. He needs some real companionship, somebody who isn't embroiled in all this nasty political bullshit. You might even say he needs SOMEBODY TO maintain amicable relations with.  Convenient!   Sure we could've come back to Solea whenever, but this time we kinda have to and you know how much of a difference that makes.  Merc awkwardly shuffles around a bit before walking up to the door, the big lunk.  ... Woah okay who needs personal space hi Eleanor. You didn't think we were done with her, did you? ---  Merc politely brought Eleanor up to speed during the fadeout.  I know she has her reasons, but I can't tell what's right or wrong anymore.  She may be right about one thing, though...the way things are going. I never thought much about what I wanted to do. I began my military training at 12 and became a knight at 14. I'm no medieval historian but that sounds kinda young! It was the usual path for the son of an aristocrat like me... But look at me now...I am no longer a knight. Uh  I don't understand what Rictor is thinking, and I can't follow Cybil's orders... This isn't how it should be...Oh good, teen angst. My favorite.  Mercury, there must be a legitimate reason why you disagree with her. Confront her about it. You can't always run away from difficult situations. Maybe if you had explained things to her, you could have found a solution.Nah too late now, we had a vote and everything. Explain my reason? Confront her...? Does that help? Talking to you like this makes me want to stay here forever...but...there are things that I can't leave undone. Thank you, Eleanor. I must go now.Oh good, teen romance. My favorite. Mercury... Will I see you again? Oh poo poo um I suppose now isn't the best time to tell y'all this is another mini-update. Well, you know what to do! Just kidding. This is A Choice but it doesn't have earth-shattering ramifications on the plot. All this choice (and a few others down the line) affects is how much of Eleanor's hard earned pay she's willing to splurge on us all on her own. In case it wasn't clear enough, she is a bonafide Love Interest. She has her own music and everything! Anyway. Of course I'll be back. I promise.  D'aww good for Mercury, he's found somebody to trust and partake in healthy communication with.  And now back to your regularly scheduled violence. Sufrir's kinda weird, in an incredibly minor way. Most of the area names in this game are Latin words for animals but here's Sufrir just being a random Spanish verb (to suffer, btw). Whatever sounds cool, I guess. (I keep meaning to mention name stuff oops)  This is another of the battle themes I really like. It fits pretty well.   Gremlins and Earth Dragons and Thunder Dragons, oh my!  I finally caught up with you.  Oh hey! Um, Rictor's not still mad is he? Master Lasanti asked me to join you, but first thing's first... Let's defeat them and then we'll talk.  Huh actually that's a sketchy looking demon seal kinda thing there. Maybe there was a lot of suffering here.  But more importantly, we got a new Guest buddy! Orson's still an archer and not nearly as strong as Cybil, but it's better than nothing.  We actually have more than eight units now, so unfortunately active members'll have to take turns on the bench every now and then. Newcomers TARDIS, Bregor, and Krysm are coming along and J. Totes is taking a break. For the mission itself, we kinda have the opposite situation as in Urodela. There, we had awkward terrain and tons of fast, fragile fighters backed up by one annoyer. This time we're facing a somewhat even mix of annoying long-range gremlins and big beefy dragons in a mostly flat field. Dragons are tough, but there's only four of them. This is our first battle together since we fought at the port. Be alert. Most of them are stronger than you can imagine.Heh maybe than YOU can imagine.  because you're an archer  Gotta get me some of those dragons   Okay Orson. I've been playing a lot of the other Tactics Ogre lately and it's weird both having decent movement ranges and being able to use them freely here.  Most of the team advances straight forward but I send Bregor off to the side to take advantage of the high ground.  All of the gremlins are armed with bows and prioritize keeping their distance. This won't prove annoying in any way by the end of the battle.  Guys I miss Cybil   So you might remember Rabbi taking up the spear. These nifty weapons can hit two spaces at once, like so. Definitely nice, but that range can come back and bite you through unwanted counterattacks.   Lancer emblem acquired. You get the Lancer emblem for lancing things, specifically for hitting two enemies with a spear. It's a requirement for the Valkyrie class.  And this is the most accurate attack we'll be seeing against gremlins. Bleh.  Yeah get used to this. Frocobo has a secret mission anyway, can't waste time on these scrubs.  And this, well, either Bregor needs to stretch his shooting arm or Ovish (Ovisian? Ovist?) arrowheads are made of lead. Er, or a metal much heavier than steel idk  oh you little  If you're anything like me and choose to do something else during the enemy phase, you need some way of checking on everyone when you get back.  This is much easier than checking everyone's health one by one! Not that anyone needs patching up. Rabbi got swarmed but she blocked a couple hits.  Haha wow archers su- okay in Bregor's defense, he and TARDIS are half the enemy level and dragons are pretty hardy.  They're both earning experience like crazy, though. It's pretty easy to bring weaker characters up to snuff even in the heat of battle!   Our main damage dealers are definitely Deneb and Geese, though.  So yeah, as you might reasonably assume, dragon tamers happen to be really good at taming dragons. He's not even that injured!  Got me a pet dragon aw yeah  Mercury shows off his new hanzo steel. Katanas are supposedly two-handed weapons but their attack animation uses this weird one-handed flick. I guess he needs his left hand to look cool? I don't get it.  Frocobo continues flying toward the upper right, taking potshots along the way.  With similar results.  WOAH gross dude watch the shoes! That's the first special move we've seen, I think. You may have noticed Frocobo and other non-human characters have SP meters instead of MP. SP is functionally identical to MP (start with 0, get 10/turn) except you can't restore it with items, since humans make that junk. Non-humans also can't use magic, so they get skills to make up for it, like a dragon's elemental breath. Skills also aren't affected by the Necklace of Resist, obviously.  So dragons get nasty breath attacks every other turn, which can get bad if you're slow to take them out.  It's also really nice when new friends put it to work for you!  Anyway, Orson finally starts helping. I'm honestly more impressed with the dragon's ouch sprite. He looks like he's dancin'   loving GREMLINS actually nah this one was my fault. Crossbows can fire upward but they can't deal with obstacles as well as bows. At any rate, Frocobo's reached the treasure square.  Buried Ice Wand acquired.Woo! That'll go nicely on a water mage, as soon as I can change Geese's element.  Back in the fray, Bregor finishes off the gremlin our new dragon buddy puked on.  And Rabbi snags us another one! I'm sorry I just can't stop    Mercury and TARDIS team up to beat the odds and take down another gremlin.  Deneb and Geese double-team another of the dragons. The Ice Field spell has this neat freezing effect, but it sadly isn't an actual status ailment.  He trundles on over to get some revenge.  But TARDIS finishes him off with some help from our new thunder dragon.   Magic's pretty good right now.  And Bregor gets the kill for another level. See, archers are useful! Just one enemy left, that dumb gremlin who hasn't left the rear pillars all fight.  Thankfully I had the foresight to get some more magic, so Rabbi pelts him with a fireball.    Krysm's packing, too, but uh that's kinda weird.  Oh. Huh. Oops! I actually didn't know that, normally my necklaces all go on dragons and beasties. You learn something new...  Thankfully Krysm's shuriken are decidedly non-magical.  Aha, revenge!  Or not.  Uuuugggghhh  Thankfully Geese managed to barely get in range. I shudder to imagine how obnoxious this dude would be if you somehow came in here without any ranged options and had to rely on Orson.  Gremlins are the worst.  None of these enemies had any interesting equipment (or any at all in some cases), so our loot's a bunch of stat boosters. Not that stat boosters are bad! They're real handy if someone's on the edge of a new class and just needs a little extra push. I'll probably hand this MP booster to Deneb for uh, reasons.   I only want/need one dragon right now, but I'm glad I recruited the second one because he's somehow better in pretty much every way. And he's the requested element, too! Anyway, Orson's probably got something to say. ---   I see you haven't let your skills diminish. Tell me. What is Rictor up to? Weren't we sent here to drive away the troops from the North?Mercury's decided to attempt marginal subtlety this time around! We were sent to investigate the goal of the northern troops, but we haven't been able to uncover much information. When we heard that you left Urodela, Master Lasanti ordered me to join you.So Rictor can't do his actual job, but keeping constant tabs on Merc? No sweat! I'm glad he sent you, a trusted ally, but... I'm not going back. You're here to persuade me, aren't you? Rictor, buddy, we're bros and all but you don't need to dissolve your company just because one dude left! Really...? But why...? Your actions should be punished, but you refused to rejoin us. Is there no stopping you? My last order from Commander Lasanti was to help you, even though you made yourself his enemy. So, will you allow me to join you? I...guess that makes sense? Sure, why not.  Don't worry about it. Even though your decisions may conflict with the beliefs of your friends, don't let that stop you from forging your own destiny. Never yield in the face of opposition. Thus is the path of determining your own future. Now, it's best we be on our way.Aw Orson, you're alright.  Also I just couldn't bear the thought of forcing a weary old man off the bench, so make yourself comfortable!  Man, I know this island's on the small side but that's a really long underwater tunnel. Anyway, join me next time for  --- Orson Official Art 
Looper fucked around with this message at 21:12 on May 17, 2014 |
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2014 03:42
|
|
|
Looper posted:
Aww yeah, it's time for the stunning skill that is Thunder breath to tear Mercury's foes asunder!
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2014 03:58
|
|
|
While I am iffy on a lot of the character art in this game (I'm way too attached to Yoshida for my tactical RPG character needs), I do love the art for the dragons. Also, is it weird that I hear Orson from Garfield and Friends whenever Orson talks?
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2014 04:39
|
|
|
Yeah, I have no idea who the artist for KoL is but it definitely feels more budgeted than the rest of the series. I admit, I'm mostly just posting the official art for its own sake. The emblems look neat, though!
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2014 05:04
|
|
|
Oh man, I love this game. It was pretty much the reason I got my GBA in the first place. I think I made my Alphonse into a katana-wielding murderer very early on and never looked back, so it's nice to see you're following in my footsteps. If you're still taking recruits, you should add me in later on. Maybe as a Warlock for variety, once you unlock them.
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2014 05:53
|
|
|
I actually kind of like the art in this game, though its clearly underdeveloped (probably as a result of budget) and the official art suffers from the limitations of digital painting circa 2001. The spirte-work is solid, if a little goofy here and there. All and all the biggest sin the art in this game commits is being mediocre. It doesn't make any huge mistakes, but it doesn't do anything great either. With a little extra time and talent it might have been something great.
OtherworldlyInvader fucked around with this message at 06:12 on Apr 29, 2014 |
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2014 06:10
|
|
|
Hey, I'm helping! See, archers aren't so bad! Also I kinda like the awkward teen feelings between Merc and Eleanor.
|
|
#
?
Apr 29, 2014 11:35
|
|
|
Do gremlins have any decent offense? Are they worth recruiting? Or are they just good for driving you crazy?
|
|
#
?
May 7, 2014 02:29
|
|
|
Glazius posted:Do gremlins have any decent offense? Are they worth recruiting? Or are they just good for driving you crazy? Gremlins are evil faeries, I think they may have offense spells instead of support spells but I last played this game about 8 years ago so I'm probably pulling that number out of my rear end.
|
|
#
?
May 7, 2014 02:33
|
|
|
They get offensive debuffs, yeah. They're awful. Never use them.
|
|
#
?
May 7, 2014 02:47
|
|
|
Glazius posted:Do gremlins have any decent offense? Are they worth recruiting? Or are they just good for driving you crazy? Nope! They're one of those units that works infinitely better(?) in AI hands. Update's coming! I'm experimenting with longer updates to better clarify the flow of battle, so we'll see how that goes.
|
|
#
?
May 7, 2014 07:09
|
|
|
Arena Before this next fight, I did a bit more off-screen training and got everyone up to level 8 and did a bit of shuffling. Heavenly Spirit emblem acquired. Also Mercury apparently earned this emblem while I wasn't looking, for using healing magic twenty (20) times. It's required for the Priest class but uh, let's just say that class has some other requirements as well.  First off, Mercury said he wasn't a knight anymore so, he's not a knight! Gotta plug those plot holes where I can.  Thankfully TARDIS was getting cold and decided to put a shirt on. A lot of shirts.  And Bregor threw his hat off in disgust when he realized it was making him go bald. (I gave arching a shot! But this company's moving in a different direction.)  Along the way, I ran into more money problems and decided to take drastic measures. Stat boosters sell for a pretty penny, and since we aren't that close to the next tier of classes anyway, I pawned a few. For the greater good. They're not really hard to come by anyway.  Bregor bought himself a weapon he actually likes. Also, funny thing about stat boosters: you can't actually use them from the organization menu, which is kinda weird! So you have to go all the way into a training battle to actually use the darn thing there.  Like so.  Happily, that magic wine gave Deneb just enough MP to qualify for Witch, which series veterans probably knew I was gunning for. I mean, you just can't have an Ogre game without a witch named Deneb!    I have a better idea. Why don't I surprise you  And apparently the woman herself agrees with me! Meet the real Deneb, the only playable character to appear in every Ogre Battle game (albeit only for the tutorial in OB64). To recruit Deneb, you just make a witch named Deneb. In the Japanese version, she has to be fire element, but otherwise you just gotta spell her name right. That's really all it takes, no dragons or glass pumpkins or moral choices required! It's such a devious and brilliantly simple method, I love it.  Witches aren't really very good, but Witches are another story. I'll go more in-depth in classchat, but Deneb's innate charm spell is much better than the vanilla version (Fascination) and in addition to support magic, she gets access to another spell type we haven't seen yet. Back to our other mage, for some reason, I forgot that Geese was already a water type last time. I'm...not really sure why? Maybe I was thinking of our renamed recruits. Or maybe I shouldn't work on this late at night. But in any case, dude got a shiny stick.  And last but not least, our dragon buddy gets a new name!  Anyway NOW we're off for Arena, a peaceful little island known for playing host to many cordial negotiations in the past where we will certainly resolve everyone's problems in a nonviolent manner  oh  Well this doesn't look too bad, a little dark but  Oh hey! Who knew finding a mermaid'd be so easy?  wait what's with the bad guy music We're looking for the mermaids' sanctuary. I need to speak with your leader. Can you help us?  Reveal the location of our home? Are you crazy?! You'll kill every last one of us. Wait. I have no intention of harming any of you. No no no see, that's what my BOSS wants to do! Me, I'm alright, promise. I don't trust humans! Everyone, land me a hand! No guys wait c'mon, this is the pacifist route! We're supposed to be all cool and independent and above this kind of thing!  Aw man.  So we found mermaids (and octopi and hawkmen?) and now we have to beat them up. There aren't any secret alternative ways of clearing this mission. Okay okay I'm being a little disingenuous here. If you manage to get Minerva down to critical health, she'll realize life is precious and retreat, affecting the enemy roster of the next mission and the fate of a certain other character. HOWEVER for reasons you'll just have to wait on, sparing her is both much easier and less ironically tragic in the A route, so we'll do it there.  Be forewarned. I'll guard this place with my life! Wonderful. I kinda like this map's layout: we've got these two main islands and a whole bunch of wet stuff in between. It's symbolic or something.  Sooo since water's kinda gross and most of the enemy loves the stuff, we're gonna sit tight and enjoy these natural defenses.  Almost feels like Fire Emblem or something.  Unlike the last time I tried defense, everyone here's packing melee weapons and has to come a little closer. Good thing, too, because this happens  Yeesh. That can happen on water-heavy maps like this when it rains.  The vanguard moves back a bit just in case any enemies want to get out of the water.  Unfortunately, mermaids are kinda like water valkyries, which is a terrible analogy because we haven't met the latter yet. They fight with spears and will take every opportunity to jab you from a distance like so.  Everyone else continues closing in. I don't recommend trying to fight in the water.  Especially when some crazy old man is flash freezing chunks of it.  Anyway, here you can start to see what's so great about Deneb. Status magic doesn't have the best accuracy in this game (as you'll see later!) and Deneb's charms are usually around 40% more accurate than those of lesser witches.   Charm is a rad status ailment. You might notice octopodes aren't nearly the juggernauts they are in LUCT. I'm totally fine with this.   Status spells also tend to burn two enemy actions, since the AI prioritizes restoring any afflicted units with their bottomless stash of Spirit Fruits.  Meanwhile the other hawkman has a go at Merc, and kinda weakens my next point!  Despite their numbers and affinity for water, the mermaids actually aren't the biggest threat, it's the weirdly buff hawkmen who  oh no  Spoke too soon! Mermaids learn Lullaby at level 10 (yes this is now Pokemon), so if I'd gotten Merc just one level higher, this mission could've been a whole lot harder. Thankfully we only have Minerva to deal with, but being the boss, she'll be sticking around a while. TARDIS is out cold for the moment, though.   Uh or not. Sleep normally incapacitates someone until they take a hit, but it has a chance of wearing off between turns like this and end up a complete waste of effort. Not that I'm complaining.   I am gonna complain about this, though! I'm still not used to crossbow trajectories!   Neurion and Mercury don't need no fuckin "long range" or whatever. But enough about the bad times.  The time has finally come to put the AoE in er... AoE. Uh anyway the mild training and Ice Wand put Geese's int over 70, which means triple your pleasure.  Frozen fractals all around! yes I know what fractals are go away  Eh those odds aren't as good, but I've had worse.  I've had worse!     And so has TARDIS! C'mon is that the best you got   Hm yes that's pretty good.  And of course one more for good measure.  Merc's side is having better luck, those two hawkmen notwithstanding. Er, that's supposed to say 46!  Thanks Minerva. She only managed to get Frocobo here, though.   On the bright side of having my precious defenses compromised, the rearguard has something to do now.  I just had to say guard.  Another perk of playing defensively is getting tons of thunder breath charged up (no I didn't forget to use it earlier don't be silly)  Every elemental breath has a chance to inflict a specific ailment, in this case being...stum? These stat fonts look kinda terrib- erm so paralysis works just like sleep except violence isn't the cure.  One thought crystallizes like an icy blast! just sayin  One downside for Deneb right now (and all mages later on) is that her magic's kinda pricey, so she pops a magic leaf like she probably should have on Turn 1.  Look at this guy, healing AND taking a beating! Crazy!   Right on cue, another enemy wastes another turn curing an octopus of an ailment. I'm not sure how many items enemies have but I'm pretty sure it's all of them.   TARDIS stands by his post, but one of the mermaids just leaves rather than stab a buddy.  The AI in general is kinda weird about things like that. This dude, fearing a wand to the face, instead opts for a much hardier target.   His buddy saves me the trouble of waking Frocobo up, when together they could've put Geese in serious trouble. Oh well!  Minerva moves in. Her attacks normally hurt as much as any boss's, but the biggest threat is her voice.  Frocobo moves out of the way so that  Geese can do his thing.   Allowing J. Totes and Bregor to combo the remaining hawkman. Whips get the same two panel range as spears, but they lack the piercing capability. Still handy, though!  How does that even work? This company doesn't offer dental I'll have you know  Another neat thing about both Sleep and Stun is that they render targets incapable of dodging. wait no that's sad   A-are we in the wrong here?  Psh nah whatever let's see what Deneb can do besides act like a sorority girl on Halloween.  Oh, well, that's pretty? I guess? It made the rain finally stop but that isn't quite what I wanted to do. (please ignore the devastating implications this carries for global meteorology)   It was around this point I realized this battle was taking a while.  And then this jackass.  And then my loot almost gets stolen! Yeah don't ask me how Geese gets hit through Merc's guard. Videogames, man.  Thankfully Mercury counter-crits the mermaid back off the loot bag, as claiming treasure is the very last thing a character does when ending their turn.  Not so thankfully, now Deneb's asleep.  Despite his chaotic outlook, Frocobo strongly disapproves of performance enhancing  As does OH HEY that's a nice shield ya got there pal  I want it  I debated going with more Frozen lyrics or a Mr. Freeze quote here but in any case  she dead Nice going Mercury!  He grabs some pot to make himself feel better. Urn of Chaos acquired.This thing's way more important than stat boosters because it lets you screw with alignment!  I have to admire Big Octo's persistence.    But not theirs.  Naturally. J. Totes is out for the rest of the fight.  Finally! This is what I wanted to happen right after using Clear Sky. All the rain water just kinda evaporates all at once.  Geese finally ran out of MP for Ice Field and he wasn't really in a convenient position for missile magic, so instead he knocks Deneb awake.  Meanwhile the west side crew tries to lure that dumb hawkman back into range.  It works!  TARDIS similarly tried to lure the east side further in, but they apparently got fed up with his shiny metal rear end and kept to the water.  Minerva herself's kinda hidden there behind Neurion. I actually kinda freaked out here because I forgot Merc was a ninja for a second and was like "HOW is he FLOATING oh"    This dude will just not go down! Must be the shield.  Cut through the heart, cold and clear!  Strike for love!  Strike for fear!  There's beauty and there's danger he- oh drat it Deneb you threw off my groove!      okay okay I got it back now (Neurion also fell asleep in that last Lullaby)  Beautiful!  Powerful!  Dangerous!  Cold!  Wind has a magic can't be controlled!  Wait that's not right. Oh whatever he's dead. FINALLY    Only two left now. Where're your items now?? can you imagine if enemies used resurrection  Let's try this again. Split the ice apart-  And snare the frozen heart.  There we go. Deneb's really good guys I promise! A lesser man would crack jokes about how she's only been able to charm octopuses. I am not that m- oh god drat it  "ahhh a ghost!"  In more of that stirring Ogre Battle social commentary you know and love, Merc finds a crown that inexplicably makes the wearer smarter. Sure game, whatever.  Embodiment of Desires emblem acquired.He gets rewarded with a physical manifestation of his greed. Nice! (You get this emblem for picking up five (5) loot bags, whether from enemies or random treasures. It raises the rank of whatever random loot the holder finds, if that makes sense.)  Ice Shield acquired.And Bregor nabs that nice shield Mr. Hawkman couldn't stop showing off.  Octobuddy fails to make a dent in Minerva, but her counter makes it easier for us to finish him off.  Frocobo obliges.  While Mercury fittingly lands the final blow.   Minerva drops this nice ring that her sister almost certainly gave her. Sorta makes you feel better about being a horrible rear end in a top hat. Not really.  The rain intensifies. People call out this cliche/trope quite a bit, but really, it works. I'm no different than Cybil.Weeell I'm pretty sure she didn't want to straight up murder them, so I told her I'd solve the problem peacefully, but look at what I've done! Despite slaughtering everyone we met, we've...found the mermaid's city anyway? Huh. Well, join me next time when we very definitely manage a successful negotiation (for sure this time) in which there are no misunderstandings leading to protracted physical altercations. That'd be silly. Looper fucked around with this message at 20:49 on May 17, 2014 |
|
#
?
May 7, 2014 08:36
|
|
|
So by the end of this LP we should be getting through most of the Disney classics, right?
|
|
#
?
May 7, 2014 15:53
|
|
|
Oh wow, okay. I kinda forgot that the B route involves us straight up murdering Minerva
|
|
#
?
May 7, 2014 17:13
|
|
|
TARDISman posted:So by the end of this LP we should be getting through most of the Disney classics, right? No! Maybe? 
|
|
#
?
May 7, 2014 20:18
|
|
|
Neurion posted:Oh wow, okay. I kinda forgot that the B route involves us straight up murdering Minerva Yeah me too. I guess thats why I choose path A all the time.
|
|
#
?
May 7, 2014 22:37
|
|
|
Neurion posted:Oh wow, okay. I kinda forgot that the B route involves us straight up murdering Minerva You don't actually have to kill her. If you knock her down to below 20% hp, she'll escape.
|
|
#
?
May 7, 2014 22:43
|
|
|
Keeshhound posted:You don't actually have to kill her. If you knock her down to below 20% hp, she'll escape. You're right! The cat has escaped its baggy confines. But the next mission is kind of weird; it's mostly the same on both routes, but the enemy roster changes a bit depending on whether Minerva's alive or dead (we meet her on both routes, too). I hope I'm not spoiling anything by saying Route A turns out differently! I also thought this outcome fit Mercury's newfound angst better. Whether it fits the route better remains to be seen, but we'll get there when we get there. Looper fucked around with this message at 23:17 on May 7, 2014 |
|
#
?
May 7, 2014 23:14
|
|
|
My whip hand is strong. I kind of like Merc's thought process on this route -- "I'll find the mermaids without hurting them!" "HEY MERMAIDS WHERE'S YOUR SECRET PLACE WHERE Y'ALL LIVE I WON'T HURT YOU!"  "welp that didn't work"
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2014 02:27
|
|
|
What's with Ogre Battle and murdering mermaids? Every game in the series I've played had a mission like that, for different reason, but still (sometimes it's also because eating mermaids is said to grant one eternal life). Actually, I remember some other TRPG having a mission like that (Yggdra Union, I think). Why are mermaids hated so?
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2014 08:07
|
|
|
Honestly, I think mermaids are victimized like that because they're a sympathetic but still foreign monstrous race. Different enough to be have legitimate reasons of conflict or mistrust, but human enough to make people feel bad about them dying. At the same time, it doesn't really matter too much to humans that the mermaids died other than them feeling bad about it.
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2014 08:11
|
|
|
Mermaids would, sit on rocks and lure boats onto the rocks to crash and sink them to then be able to eat drowned sailors. I know, it's super shocking how they've been killed so much. Okay, yeah it kinda is considering this seems a less serious grimdark broody game than most
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2014 08:21
|
|
|
Szurumbur posted:Why are mermaids hated so? I blame Ursula the Sea Witch.
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2014 09:47
|
|
|
Well, we tried. Time for a new motto, then. I'm thinking "Conscience I cast thee aside! Death shall be my helpmeet!" sounds like a good place to start. Just spitballing here. chiasaur11 fucked around with this message at 10:28 on May 8, 2014 |
|
#
?
May 8, 2014 10:26
|
|
|
Well, we tried. I wonder if this is foreshadowing.
|
|
#
?
May 9, 2014 01:12
|
|
|
If you can, put me down as a Summoner by renaming Elrik. Otherwise, put me down as a swordmaster of the earth element
TravelLog fucked around with this message at 03:07 on May 9, 2014 |
|
#
?
May 9, 2014 03:03
|
|
|
God, I remember this game. It was my first tactical RPG and I replayed it like ten times over, this is hitting so many points of nostalgia for me. Especially the equipment grinding. Couldn't pass up the chance to get myself an avatar.
|
|
#
?
May 9, 2014 03:13
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 29, 2024 12:06 |
|
|
TravelLog posted:If you can, put me down as a Summoner by renaming Elrik. Otherwise, put me down as a swordmaster of the earth element You speak blasphemy, sir! Also I'm not sure if you can rename story characters via memory editing.
|
|
#
?
May 9, 2014 03:19
|
|